Massachusetts Attorney admits to participating in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband to inmate

PROVIDENCE – A Massachusetts attorney admitted to a federal judge in Rhode Island that she participated in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband to a detainee housed at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Theresa Marie DiJoseph, 51, pleaded guilty today to one count each of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance analogue, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and providing a prohibited object to an inmate. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

DiJoseph admitted that in late 2023, she conspired with three other individuals to smuggle ten papers soaked with K2, a synthetic marijuana, into the Wyatt Detention Center.

According to information presented to the court, DiJoseph used her status as an attorney to meet multiple times with detainee Shawn D. Hart, 47, with whom she had a personal relationship, in a visiting room used for attorney visits to conduct legal work.

On December 1, 2023, during an attempt to visit with Hart, Wyatt correctional officers seized from DiJoseph 10 sheets of paper that appeared discolored, thicker than normal, and to have been wet and dried. The papers were seized and later sent to an FBI testing lab that confirmed the presence of Schedule I controlled substances.

In her appearance in court today, DiJoseph also admitted that she later made false statements to the FBI during their investigation into the source of the contraband that she attempted to bring into the detention center.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julianne Klein and Peter I. Roklan.

The matter was investigated by FBI and the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center Professional Standards Unit.